


The Tempestuous Acolyte

by mysaldate



Category: AFK Arena (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence, Depression, Gen, Hypogean Respen, Mentor&Student relationship, Platonic Relationships, Respen misses Khazard, There's violence but it's not particularly graphic, i guess?, painful transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:21:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29235243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysaldate/pseuds/mysaldate
Summary: "What you said before... about the Guardian's duties... was it all just lies?" The cold pricked on him, turning the fair skin surrounding his wounds chill and rough. Even the tears gathering in his eyes seemed to have frozen before they could spill and only hail hit the floor of the bastion. Fists balled by his sides, the elemental glared through the pain and ice. "If the problem is... me not seeing things as I should, then just teach me again!"ORAlternate ending to Respen's story, in which Esperia loses more than the sea elemental.
Relationships: Khazard&Respen (AFK Arena)
Kudos: 14





	The Tempestuous Acolyte

**Author's Note:**

> Ever since Respen dropped in the game, I knew I was gonna love him so so SO much. Sadly, my favorites are rarely given the fluff and peace they deserve, especially in my fics. I already have at least three different ideas on how to rewrite the ending of his story, though two of them only have minor differences. This is the one I decided to start with but I might add the others soon enough as well.

It wasn't as though Respen was alone. The wind wisps talked to him day in and day out, keeping him company and telling all sorts of stories from their travels around Esperia. And its people worshipped him. They brought flowers to his statue and praised when his winds brought rains in their time. And yet, it felt to him as though all of it was pointless. The people would come to praise another at the drop of a hat, their favor as whimsical as his zephyr and as unstable as the stormy sea. The wisps would answer to another just as they did to him once he was gone. He wasn’t alone, but loneliness was another story.

More than before, he realized how lucky he was to have been picked up by the Guardian of the waves in the first place. Khazard had always seen him for who he was. He looked past the raw uncontrolled power coursing through him. He helped him in ways nobody else would. But now, the sea elemental was nowhere to be found and his replacement had not been born yet. Respen spent his time meditating on a high cliff overlooking the sea, repeating the exercise he once found mundane and boring. He hoped that perhaps it would allow him to understand a little more about how the older elemental thought, maybe even figure out where he went off to. Sometimes, he followed along the rocks down to the water surface, wandering over the waves. But his sky blue eyes never landed on the person he was looking for.

The winds were changing. The people of Sankast were the first to notice, adorning the wind elemental's statue with blooms increasingly more colorful and bright in hopes of bringing the usual energy back to their sails. It wasn't that Respen was neglecting his duties. But the winds grew calm, lacking any strength and speed, as the grief peeled away at his mind. The cries of the people were irritating. Couldn't they see that he was exhausted with his own problems already? Irritation swirled in the boy's guts, bringing forth bitterness in his soul. A sharp gust of wind hit the land, tearing down sails and breaking masts like matches. The windchild withdrew back over the sea far from where humans could reach him with their complaints. But instead of peace, he only found himself growing sicker and sicker as sadness poisoned his mind, slowly but surely nagging at his thoughts.

Perhaps he was not enough. Perhaps the reason his mentor refused to see him anymore was inherently his fault. He was wild and unruly and messed up a lot. He still hadn't managed to take full control of his powers either. Anyone was bound to grow frustrated with him. Even the humans worshipping him almost like a god were only doing so in hopes of calming his bad temper, like spoiling a child who wouldn't listen to reason. Out there, in the middle of the cold northern sea, Respen found he wished he could change the very essence of himself. Winds were fickle, but winds were also reliable. There was an order in their flow, and there was reason in their power. Regular winds came and went whether or not he'd asked them to, sometimes showing more responsibility than he himself could display. They brought seasonal weather, and it was them who tirelessly helped create the waves on Khazard's dominion. If he had become like one of them, perhaps he wouldn't have been left behind.

But there was no way for him to make it now, on his own. Watching the sea rise and fall, the boy could only feel bitter tears building up. There was nothing he wanted more than to hide from the world to never be seen again. Alas, the elementals had no homes like their fellow Esperian citizens, and nor could they hide in the clouds with the gods. Touching the cold sea, Respen let his winds swallow him, a swirl of ice, water, and air locking him in the eye of the storm as tears flowed freely down his cheeks. Sobs wracked his tender body, now curled up in a small ball, not caring what happened to the sea around him. Humans never sailed this far north and none of the land's elementals would leave their places without a more serious reason. For as long as the storm remained where he was, he could be hiding away for all eternity until he returned to the very winds that birthed him in the first place.

Perhaps it was days, perhaps weeks, and perhaps even more before the storm faded. When it did, it wasn't because Respen had calmed down. Instead, it was sheer exhaustion that brutally forced him to stop in his tracks, allowing for clouds to disappear and winds to die down, leaving the elemental floating in the waves gently rocking him as if trying to soothe his pain. He had no more tears to cry even as the grief grew, lively light disappearing from his eyes. As he stared up into the sky, he couldn't help but wonder if anyone was there at all. He was taught that the celestials were always watching, lending a helping hand wherever necessary, guiding lost souls back to the light, and protecting the innocent. But nobody had come to him the entire time since Khazard had left. Did nobody see him? Or did they simply not consider him worthy of their time or attention. The bitter feeling inside of him grew ever stronger as his strength slowly returned as the days went by.

The frost that fell across the sea signified the upcoming winter. There was no more place for Respen on the waves but going back was not to his tastes either. He cared little that there had hardly been any sails the whole fall. He cared even less that the winter blizzards were supposed to bring rest upon the land. He returned to the cliff overlooking the sea, almost as if expecting to meet his teacher there, though he knew better than to hope for a miracle that wasn't coming. He'd barely settled down when the flutter of wings reached his ears, one of his loyal wisps coming to welcome him after his long absence. Seeing the little bird drew a small smile on his face for the first time in months and as it came and nuzzled against his cheeks, he felt two tears leak from his eyes, grateful for the small gesture.

The others followed, bringing messages of events he'd missed, but none other came that close to him, and none other went to whisper in his ear, news of a disaster that had befallen the Bastion of Elements but a few hours ago. Though he didn't want to, something within him compelled him to go, follow the little swallow, all the way to the very shrine, an anxious restlessness growing in him as he hurried through the forest. With the swirls of zephyr, he reached the Bastion, eerie silence filling the place. The road inside was paved with ice, sharp and unforgiving, yet the chill was familiar. The scent of salt hung heavily in the air, little crystals of the mineral sparkling in the icicles and on frozen grass. Under the silver light of the pale moon, that shine was one that Respen was now familiar with.

"Khazard..?" The name came out more as a whisper than anything else, and Respen knew there was no way his voice could be heard inside the fort. Yet, there was no doubt in his mind about who was the one bringing forth the powerful bone-chilling cold that was enough to make even the elemental feel weak. He stepped to the door, peering in at the figure in the very back of the room. His mentor had changed a lot since he last saw him but there was no way it was anyone else still. Gathering all his courage, Respen took a deep breath to calm down before calling out the other's name once more. "Khazard!"

There was a cry in his voice as he stepped in, paying no mind to the frozen bodies strewn around. Some of them were still weakly breathing, their shaky inhales being the only movement of the air in the room. The freezing cold air in the room. Needles of frost attacked Respen's lungs as he crept closer, watching as Khazard turned around to face him. The gentle blue of his eyes was replaced with sinister red, a snake-like beast curled around his arm, his armor was jagged and dangerous, and there was a crooked grin playing along his chapped lips but it was undeniably him. Respen could have sworn his eyes widened a little as he realized just who had come to face him.

"Do you intend to stop me, too?" Khazard spat out, disdain and ridicule in his voice, sending a shiver down Respen's spine. He'd never heard his mentor speak like that before, the elemental's patience and kindness seeping from his every word before. But now he swung his arm out to bring attention to the dead and dying, a grim chuckle slipping from his lips. "Just like them?"

He wasn't. For so long, Respen had only been looking for a way to talk to his mentor one more time. He wouldn't waste his time trying to stop something he didn't even understand. That wasn't the way he was taught either. Instead, he took a respective step back, looking down at his feet both to not be disrespectful and to escape the corpses' frightened expressions. "Why are you doing this?"

"Pitiful worm." The words stabbed right through him. A numbness spread as he struggled to comprehend those words. Who was pitiful? A worm? Him? Was he truly as unimportant and weak as a small dirt-dweller or the pest ruining a good meal? He raised his head slowly, looking for some sign of a cruel joke in the man's face. Instead, he found disgust, though somehow it didn't feel as though it was right. "I truly wish you could see what I see."

A crackle in the floor was heard before it could be seen and before Respen knew what was happening, a wall of solid ice grew around him, trapping him in a prison colder than the freezing sea. The wind wisp that had brought him here slammed pitifully against it as panic rose inside of the elemental before he figured out what had happened. It wasn't hard to understand what it meant. It was a threat. It was a show of power. It was further proof of the difference in the levels of their strength. And yet, he found himself filled with warm familiarity. He remembered all the times he'd watched Khazard dance with the waves before, the sea bending to his will like an obedient servant, like a loyal partner. The precision of his mentor's techniques and the absolute control he had over his domain always astonishing the wide-eyed acolyte no matter how many times he'd seen them.

"Only the power of a hurricane can break my ice cage." Khazard's voice reached him inside his prison, bringing together the swirling thoughts he'd surrounded himself with when out on the sea. He wasn't that far from the truth it seemed. Nobody would want to waste their time on a brat like him. "You, who have never had full control of your moods and emotions, are still powerless to control the winds. Isn't that so?"

Respen felt his eyes filling with tears, his head buzzing with a dozen thoughts all at once. He really was no good. The humans only thought of him as a threat. The wind wisps only reported to him to nag him to do his job. His mentor grew frustrated with him to the point of succumbing to becoming a hypogean. Not even the celestials probably saw him as anything but a failure. Otherwise, why had nobody come here to rescue him yet? Why had nobody else arrived to stop Khazard? It made no sense. Nothing made any sense at all.

"... Such an incompetent guardian." Khazard's voice cut deeper than any blade could, bringing the boy to his knees as his trembling legs gave way and all power left him. "Why not return to nature a little sooner, hmm?"

There was barely a crack to be heard as numerous icicles sprang forth and buried themselves deep into the windchild's tender flesh. He hardly had the time to take a breath, a wheezing whine coming out of his lips first. The searing pain made him see white and paralyzed him entirely. Memories swirled in his mind, his life flashing in front of his eyes. It wasn't one he could be proud of. All he could see was one disappointment after another. And yet, the dark embrace of death didn't come for him as the ice inside him stopped before it could pierce his vitals. His eyes fluttered open again, finding Khazard with a difficult expression.

"What you said before... about the Guardian's duties... was it all just lies?" The cold pricked on him, turning the fair skin surrounding his wounds chill and rough. Even the tears gathering in his eyes seemed to have frozen before they could spill and only hail hit the floor of the bastion. Fists balled by his sides, the elemental glared through the pain and ice. Had Khazard actually wanted to kill him, he would have already been dead three times over. It was almost as though the hypogean's eyes were begging him to fight. "If the problem is... me not seeing things as I should, then just teach me again!"

They came to a standstill for a while, looking each other in the eyes, the cold spreading further inside Respen's body. Just as he thought he must have misunderstood after all, the cage that was to become his tomb fell to pieces, leaving him hurt and aching but alive, staring up at his mentor like a lost pup. He took a few shuddering breaths, watching as the wind wisp dropped to the floor, exhausted much like him. Khazard was watching him as if expecting something. With a small pained whine, he hurried back to his feet, taking the swallow up in his hands.

"If you fail me again, I will kill you." To anyone else, that would be a threat. For Respen, it was a promise. And it meant he was forgiven. Suffocating his happiness so as not to annoy his mentor further, he bowed his head, a smile he couldn't control spreading across his lips.

"I'll work harder than ever to make you proud." He made a promise of his own, choosing to believe the chuckle that came from his mentor was amused rather than disbelieving. Light steps rang on the floor before a heavy hand clad in sharp crystals landed in his hair. For a moment, he'd thought the hypogean was showing him affection. Then the pain set in. It was fast. Spreading from his scalp to the rest of his body, like needles were flowing in his body instead of blood, the agony ever-growing the longer it went on. His mouth opened in a cry of pain before he knew it as the corruption spread. Sight blurred with tears, he stared at his hands as they trembled and his veins grew dark and purple. His skin turned sickly pale, then blue, then darkened until it reminded him of the pits of the ocean itself.

A new, splitting pain, assaulted his senses as his throat grew hoarse with his screams, hands coming up to clutch his head regardless of how much agony every move put him through. From the corner of his eye, he caught a movement, Khazard's ice snake coiling around the arm pressed in his hair. It crawled down, wrapping itself around his body, bringing together worse cold than Respen had ever felt. It was worse than the icicles that impaled him just a few moments ago, it was worse than the unrelenting frost of corruption penetrating his very soul. The serpent strangled him, causing frostbites to blossom on his skin wherever the spikes on its scales didn't already stab through his skin. Before long, its face rose in front of his and the demonic red eyes stared into his very soul. He felt his body getting lighter. Everything seemed to have been swallowed into the snake's red eyes, an endless abyss swirling inside them and consuming everything all around, Khazard's hand on his head being the only thing grounding him as he blacked out.

When he woke up, the pain was gone. He was in a cave, covered by a number of furs even though he no longer felt cold either. It was dark but not too dark for him to make up the shape of a swallow fluttering its wings above his head as he opened his eyes. From below its wings, he saw numerous blue strings twist and turn, coiling on their own and around the bird's body. He took notice of similar strings coming out of his mouth with every breath. He understood without any explanations, following the traces of the wind to the mouth of the cave.

Out there, he found Khazard, sitting on the cliff overlooking the sea. His snake lied around him, its massive head resting in the hypogean's lap as he stroke it like a beloved pet. It hardly surprised Respen to see this side of him. He was still his mentor who'd spent so long trying to teach him. He joined silently, watching as the winds swirled over the sea, playing with the waves and intertwining in beautiful nets just above the water's surface. Khazard took note of him but only greeted him with a nod of his head. Returning the gesture, Respen decided not to disturb the expecting silence.

The wind wisp came out of the cave as well, settling down on his shoulder, and he reached out to give it attention just as his mentor did with his snake. His other hand came up as if reaching for the swirling zephyr above the waves. He'd spent the time during Khazard's absence working hard on his control. And with the strings attached to each and every gust and flurry of the wind, he had little problems manipulating it to his wishes. Whether it was to test his own powers or to show off, he didn't know. But as he scooped up some water, suddenly Khazard's hand was on his, making him clench his fist, and he did as he was silently asked, following in his mentor's orders like always.

An orb of wind surrounded the water, freezing it instantaneously until it burst into a flurry of snowflakes that the wind scattered over the sea. To Respen, it was the most beautiful thing in the world. As soon as his teacher's hand left his own, he tried again. He didn't need to be told to do so. It came as natural as breathing to him, finally understanding what it was Khazard was trying to teach him. Or perhaps this was different. Perhaps he was never meant to have the power to bring forth cold so bad it could tear living beings apart as every last drop of water in their bodies froze and expanded. But this was his place now.

Looking at his hand, he noticed his skin had gone indigo, icy blue wrapping where his armor used to be. Clad in sharp crystals now, he could hardly remember what soft fabric felt like even as he tried. In Khazard's armor, he caught a reflection of his face. His eyes had no whites, being fields of ice with dark blue irises bringing a stark contrast to the pale cold surrounding them. There was also blue coming down his face, trails of tears from when the corruption was taking him over, and signs of his own weakness. His hair had turned white.

As he was still admiring his new form, the older hypogean reached out to him, throwing something in his hair. Instinctively, Respen closed his eyes preparing for more pain. Perhaps his transformation wasn't yet complete? But instead, he felt a pleasant cool covering his scalp. Hesitantly turning to look, he found an array of blue crystals spread across his hair, connected by the finest strings of pure ice, sparkling in the moonlight more beautifully than any diamond from the dwarven mines. As he glanced up, he was met with a small smile on Khazard's face before he turned back to the sea.

Looking back to his wisp, Respen took it gently in his hands, bringing it up to his face and breathing a sigh, he took hold of its strings. His other hand went to weave the seawater in the meantime. His work was much cruder than his mentor's. The crystals he created were larger and far from as cleanly cut. And as he weaved them into the wisp, it cried out in pain, its fragile wings burdened by the sharp gifts. Respen didn't let go though, only setting the bird down when he was satisfied with his work.

"Khazard, what do you think?" He asked with a smile, eyes still glued to his creation. The wind swirling in the wisp's body seemed to have adjusted to the added weight, carrying the studding proudly now. Khazard looked down at the small creature before his eyes traveled to the boy instead. He was calm and held back his excitement. So much different from the child he'd left behind when he thought there was nothing for him but death. He felt no remorse over becoming a hypogean, and nor did he regret turning Respen into one. It was better for the child this way too.

"If you think you can satisfy me with just this-"

"I don't." Even though Respen had interrupted the other, his tone was nothing but polite. In his time alone, he'd decided to be better if he ever got the chance to talk to Khazard again. He wasn't about to let that chance slip between his fingers now that he had it. "It is just a start."

"One day, you will gain control."

"But until that happens, it only matters that I can be with you."

Khazard felt his frozen heart give a thump as he saw the boy's hopeful smile. He turned to the waves again, thinking back on all the times he'd seen Respen smile before. Somehow, he liked this one better. After all, every elemental would eventually die. And every smile would eventually be forgotten. But as a hypogean, the windchild would be able to live forever, never to be the slave of time or fickle elements. Of course, they could still be killed. But so long as he was around, he knew he would whatever he could to protect that hopeful smile.

Even if it one day ended up coming back to bite him.


End file.
